Overtime: Tohru
by PowerfulMind
Summary: on hiatus for revisions Tohru's 17th birthday has come around and something from her past catches up to her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket in no way belongs to me. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya

a/n: this is the first story that I'm actually committed to. I making most of the story up along the way but I have some sort of outline. I can't update often. I'm really busy so I can only write and update when I have a day off from school (not including weekends). Chapters will also be pretty short. I'm not a great writer so don't expect nice lengthy chapters with awesome details. Sorry.

a/n: this is king of au. And I have a couple of oc characters in this fic.

a/n: the title has nothing to do with the fic if you're wondering

Now let's begin…

**Chapter 1**

Rays of sun poured in though the window, brightening the room and signaling the start of a new day. The sun was rising and it, being so high and mighty, wanted the people to rise with it. But the sun rays failed to make the occupant of the room wake, because this person did not need the motivation of the sun to make her rise. The bed was made nice and the room was empty of people. Honda Tohru was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Tohru had a small smile on her face while she was setting the table. She was also humming a tune.

"…let's stay together, itsumo…," she finished softly.

"Good morning Tohru-kun!" Out of nowhere, Sohma Shigure's voice came. "Breakfast smells good!" Then Kyo walks in and heads directly towards the refrigerator for milk. He takes the carton with him to the table.

"What's for breakfast?" Kyo asked. Tohru placed a large plate of dumplings on the table.

"I thought we could finish up the takoyaki from yesterday...," Tohru paused. "Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't ask if you wanted to eat leftovers! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"I don't care Tohru. It's fine," Kyo answered before Tohru could continue apologizing further.

Shigure held his chin in thought, "Hmm…I don't know if I feel like eating something two days in a row…"

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Ritsu came I into the room, "I WAS THE ONE WHO ASKED TOHRU TO MAKE TAKOYAKI! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T SEE ANY CORN FLAKES, SO I WANTED TAKOYAKI! I'M SORRY! I SHOULD HAVE LET SHIGURE-NIISAN CHOOSE HIS OWN BREAKFAST!" Ritsu ran around the kitchen, flailing his arms and knocking over stuff. "SHIGURE-NIISAN LET ME STAY IN HIS HOUSE, AND I REPAY HIM BY DISPLEASING HIM! I'M SOOO SORRY!"

"Oh yeah. You're still here," Kyo said as he watched Ritsu make a mess of the kitchen. He put a dumpling in his mouth.

"Aww….my poor kitchen…," Shigure whined.

"This is all your fault. You know that right?" Kyo finished his breakfast and put his plate in the sink and walked upstairs before he developed a headache.

"uh…." Shigure started. A moment later, Yuki walked in. He stared at the scene and attempted to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"What's going on…"

"AHHH! I'M SORRY, YUKI-SAN! I'M SO SORRY THAT MY SCREAMING WOKE YOU UP! I'M SORRY YOU HAD TO WAKE UP TO SUCH AN AWEFUL THING! I'M SORRY YOU DIDN'T WAKE UP TO YOUR NORMAL ALARM! I TURNED IT OFF! I'M SORRY! I THOUGHT YUKI-SAN COULD NEED SOME MORE SLEEP BECAUSE HE'S A ZOMBIE EVERY MORNING! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!" Ritsu sobbed hysterically. "NOW YUKI WILL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL AND GET SUSPENDED….!"

"Didn't we go through this before…" Yuki said.

"AH! School! I need to get ready!" Tohru quickly swept up any broken glass and disposed of it. She then ran upstairs to get ready for school.

"Hmm….that was interesting." Shigure popped a dumpling into his mouth while leaning on his hand. He started coughing.

"You deserve to choke…" Yuki left to prepare for school.

"NOO! I'M SORRY! MY CHOICE OF TAKOYAKI FOR BREAKFAST IS KILLING SHIGURE-NIISAN!"

* * *

Tohru changed into her school uniform. Today was the start of a new semester. She hummed happily despite what happened that morning. It seemed like Tohru was always happy.

But Tohru has been extra happy all week. Her 17th birthday was almost a week ago, but the Sohmas decided to stretch her birthday celebration out for a whole week.

Last Monday was when the Sohmas found out about her birthday. They were at lunch and Arisa Uotana asked what Tohru wanted for her birthday. Hearing this, Kyo and Yuki demanded why Tohru didn't tell them it was her birthday. Momiji was so excited by the news, he was hopping up and down madly. Hatsuharu merely congratulated her. That's when Momiji had the brilliant idea to make her birthday really special and planned a series of events all week for Tohru. Of course, being Tohru, she objected to the idea, saying she didn't deserve such a thing.

The next day, Tuesday, Kagura and Kisa took Tohru to the mall and bought her a whole new wardrobe. They wouldn't take 'no' for an answer when Tohru said she didn't need any of it. Now, Tohru had a bunch of new sundresses of various colors and patterns in her closet, a new jacket, new tennis shoes, a new bathing suit(which was a bikini that made Tohru blush every time she looked at it), a pair of knee high black boots(something Rin would wear. Kagura chose those), and a pair of heels. Tohru didn't think she'd ever wear the bikini, boots, and heels though.

Wednesday, Ayame took Tohru, along with Yuki, to his shop to fit her for a new dress, as if Tohru needed any more clothes. The dress was a pretty shade of purple with light green lace trimmings. It was a halter dress that almost touched the floor. And much to the surprise of Tohru, it was also silk. Tohru absolutely refused to take it. She just couldn't wear something so beautiful and expensive. Then Mine and Ayame put on a show of crying until Tohru accepted the gift.

Thursday, Saki and Uo stole Tohru away form the Sohma's to just hang out.

Friday, Shigure suggested that Kyo take Tohru to the carnival in town. Tohru was so excited, Kyo just couldn't say no. Yuki came also, not willing to leave Tohru with only Kyo all day, much to the annoyance of Kyo. When they got back, Tohru had a stuffed teddy bear and stuffed dog in her arms. Shigure asked if he could see the stuffed dog and ended up not giving it back until Kyo and Yuki beat him. Momiji and Hatsuharu stopped by that night and Momiji enthusiastically invited Tohru to the onsen.

Most of the juunishi and Tohru went to the onsen. The only members of the juunishi that weren't there were Rin and Kureno. Even Hiro went to the onsen. Mostly because Kisa was going. They spent most of the weekend there. On Sunday evening, they all got back to Shigure's house and had a feast. Then, at the end of the day, Tohru had a surprise when she got to her room. Piled in the corner of her room, were gifts. There were so many of them, that it overwhelmed Tohru. She was used to getting only a few gifts from her mother, Saki, and Uo.

Now Tohru smiled at the gifts in the corner. She promised Momiji she wouldn't open any presents until all the Sohma's gathered at the house today after school.

Tohru fastened the yellow ribbons that Yuki gave her on White Day to her hair. She also put two braids in her hair.

She double-checked herself.

_Ribbons, uniform, homework, backpack, socks, and necklace…_

She put a hand to her chest where the necklace lay under her shirt. She gently unhooked the fastener and stared at the pendant. It was of a dark colored moon hanging over a silver rose. The rose and the moon were enclosed in a circle border of gold and hung from a silver chain.

"Oka-san, you told me to always keep this necklace with me…"

"_Oka-san! Oka-san! Can we swim now!" a much younger Tohru asked excitedly._

"_Sure, Tohru-chan. Go change into your bathing suit." Kyoko said. She stared out across the lake, waiting for her daughter to get back. She smiled softly._

"_She is a pretty girl. You raise her well." Said a man sitting in a nearby tree._

"_Yeah. She's sweet. I'm doing my best with Katsuya gone."_

_The man nodded. "How old is she now? Five?"_

_Kyoko nodded. Tohru came running back in her bathing suit with her towel. The man jumped down from the tree._

"_Best be going now. Bye Tohru-chan, Kyoko-san."_

_Kyoko nodded a good-bye._

"_Bye oji-san!" Tohru waved happily. She didn't really know the man but her oka-san seemed friendly with him._

_The man disappeared amongst the foliage._

"_WAH! How does he do that Oka-san?" Tohru asked, surprised. "Is he a magician? One second he's there, the next he's gone!"_

"_No. He's not a magician. He just has a lot of different skills."_

_Tohru tilted her head to the side in thought._

"_Let's go swim." Kyoko said._

"_Yay!" Tohru forgot about the man and moved to take off the necklace. But before she could, her mother stopped her._

"_Why are you taking it off Tohru-chan?"_

"_I don't want to get it wet and dirty…"_

"_This necklace is very special. Don't ever take it off. You've had it with you since you were born."_

_Tohru stared at her mother and looked into her eyes. She knew the necklace held some important meaning._

"…_okay Oka-san," Tohru said. "Ne, Oka-san. What do the pictures on my necklace mean?"_

"_Well, the rose represents me and you."_

"_What's the black curvy thing over it?"_

"_It's a black crescent moon."_

"_Black? Why black?"_

"_One day I'll tell you. The gold circle around the rose and the moon is a symbol of togetherness. The rose and moon will be together."_

"_That's nice." Tohru paused for a moment. "Well, I think it's pretty, even if the moon is black."_

_Kyoko smiled._

"_So one day you'll tell me about the black moon?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Then can you tell me who the Oji-san was?"_

"_Some day. You'll see him again."_

_Tohru smiled and the two went for a swim._

Tohru smiled at the memory. She fastened the necklace back on and put it under her shirt.

Someone knocks on the door. "Are you ready Honda-san?"

"Huh?" Tohru is startled out of her thoughts. "Oh! Hai! I'll be right out!" She quickly gathers her stuff and opens the door. She smiles brightly at Yuki. "Let's goYuki-kun!" They both walk downstairs and slip on their shoes. Kyo is waiting outside.

"What took you so long!"

"Shut up baka neko…"

Tohru walked between Yuki and Kyo while they bickered. She smiled all the way.

* * *

The classroom was full of noise. Tohru sat in her seat, talking animatedly with Uotani and Saki. Yuki stood nearby, commenting every so often on the conversation. Kyo sat and complained. Saki was shocking any fan club members that dared to even stare. Uo was sitting on Tohru's desk. Half the time talking to Tohru, and half the time insulting "Carrot Top".

"Settle down everyone! In your seats!" The sensei as she walked into the room. She was followed by a boy. Everyone instantly quieted and stared at the stranger curiously. "I said in your seats!" she repeated.

There was the sound of scurrying and chairs moving. They all stared at the boy rather rudely, all except Tohru. She seemed to be observing a bird's nest outside the classroom window.

"His waves are…interesting…" Saki said.

This got Tohru's attention. Saki never lied about her waves. The only people Tohru knew with really different, special, or interesting waves were the Juunishi. Tohru watched the boy. He was about Yuki's height and was lean and slim, much like Yuki. He was fair skinned also. He has shoulder length black hair with forest green bangs. But what really got Tohru's attention were his eyes. They were a sharp green color. He stood with his hands in his pockets and glanced around the room.

"Would you care to introduce yourself…" sensei said.

"Ookami Karasu." The boy said nonchalantly.

"Alright. Welcome to Kaibara High, Class 2-D. There's only one seat left. I trust you could find it yourself."

Karasu wordlessly walked towards Tohru. He glanced at her for only a second. Tohru gave a nervous smile. He passed her and took the seat behind her. He spent the rest of the class staring out the window. Kyo spent the class glaring at Karasu suspiciously. Yuki was more subtle and glanced in his direction every so often in between note taking. Tohru spent the class wondering about what Saki said.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket in no way belongs to me. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya

a/n: thanks for the reviews. just to let you know, reviews motivate me to write more and update.

a/n: this is king of au. And I have a couple of my own characters in this fic.

a/n: the title has nothing to do with the fic if you're wondering

Now let's begin…

Chapter 2

"…and that's it for our lesson today," the sensei finished while closing her book. "Feel free to mingle in the classroom. Just don't get too loud. And don't forget to clean up before you leave! cough I must be coming down with something…" She left the room.

"Time for…," Hanajima reached into her desk. Her eyes held a glint. Everyone in the room held their breath. "Dai Hin Min." She flashed a deck of cards. Everyone, minus Ookami Karasu, cheered.

Suddenly the sensei slid open the door, "I SAID BE QUIET!" She then slammed the door shut.

After their initial shock, a few students gathered around Saki's desk to play.

"Yuki-kun, are you going to play?" Tohru asked.

Yuki smiled softly, "Maybe just one game. Then I have to go to student council." He pulled up a chair.

"If the kuso nezumi is playing, I'm playing too! This is just one more thing I'll beat him at!" Kyo exclaimed while roughly pulling up a chair.

"Baka neko, you never beat me."

"You wanna fight!"

"I don't see the point, but if it'll force some sense into that thick skull of yours…"

Tohru sweatdropped, "Eheheh…" She gave a nervous smile. They were always fighting. She started to imagine them actually getting along.

_Kyo and Yuki were holding hands._

"_Kyo, I'm so sorry for always beating you and throwing you into walls…"_

"_I'm sorry I keep on annoying you."_

"_Can we be friends?"_

"_I'd like nothing more!"_

_Kyo and Yuki hugged._

Tohru stopped imagining. She decided it would be really odd and farfetched to see the two cousins acting that way. She looked around the room while the cards were being dealt. She spotted Karasu sitting alone at his desk reading a book. From where she sat, the title looked like _Juuni Kokki_. The book had scary pictures on the cover. She stood up and weaved her way around all the desks to get to Karasu. She stood next to him and shifted nervously.

"Ano…would you like to play Dai Hin Min with us Ookami-san?" Torhu asked nervously. She didn't know how'd he react. He hadn't spoken all day, and when the sensei asked him a question, he used the least possible number of words to form his answer. He kind of reminded Tohru of Saki, in the way he spoke nonchalantly.

Karasu was in the middle of a great, action-packed part of the book he was reading when he heard someone address him. He looked up from his book to find the girl that sat in front of him in class. He briefly took in her appearance and evaluated her personality. She was a few centimeters shorter than him with dark brown hair and yellow ribbons in it. She had teal eyes that looked nervously at the ground. Even though she was obviously nervous, she held a genuine smile. Karasu guessed she was that shy girl in every school that always tried to be kind to everyone. She was the first student all day that approached him and talked to him directly. Karasu simply stared at her for a few seconds with those piecing green eyes of his.

Tohru was already nervous to begin with, but now she was freaked out. She started fidgeting. The boy, Karasu, had been staring at her silently for what seemed like forever to her. Many of the students in the room stopped what they were doing to watch the new student and Tohru interact. Tohru was the first person (besides the sensei) to actually talk to the Ookami kid.

Yuki and Kyo were also watching the two. Yuki watched curiously while Kyo glared daggers at the boy. Saki stared with those blank eyes of hers. She was examining them curiously.

Uo watched also. She swears she knows the Ookami Karasu kid from somewhere (or heard of his name), but she couldn't remember where. She racked her brain for the answer but came up blank. _Where, where, where have I heard of this kid…Wait! I remember now! There was this Karasu kid in my pre-school who I liked to pick on! Sure, they don't look alike or have the same last name, but that must be why that name sounded so familiar to me…_ Uo inwardly grinned stupidly to herself for figuring out the mystery.

Tohru's smile was beginning to falter. "Ano…" She caught Karasu's eyes with her own and started to stare rudely.

Karasu decidedly he should give the uneasy girl an answer before she fainted from nervousness. "No thank you."

Tohru realized he answered. "…okay. Well, you're welcome to join whenever you want to…" She was slightly disappointed that he refused her offer. She quickly made her way back to Saki's desk, tripping once along the way. She sat down in her seat with a huge sigh.

Karasu watched her almost flee back to the group of card playing students. He saw her trip over a backpack. He decided to add clumsy to Honda Tohru's profile.

"Hurry up and pick up your cards Tohru before I play them for you," a boy said.

"Shut up and let her take her time!" yelled Uo.

"It's fine Uo-chan. Let's begin!" Tohru exclaimed.

Yuki smiled inwardly. Tohru was back to her usual happy self.

"Loser cleans the whole classroom by their self!" One of the students declared. Thus, the game began.

* * *

About an hour later, the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day. Yuki left to go to a student council meeting. Kyo ran around the room moving desks and pushing a broom like a maniac. He ended up losing, again. Karasu closed his book, packed it into his back pack, and left the room without a word. Prince Yuki fan club girls left to stalk Sohma Yuki. The only few still in the classroom were Kyo, Uo, Saki, and Tohru.

"Are you sure you don't need any help Kyo-kun?" Tohru aksed.

"I'm fine. I lost. I get the clean the room. It's only fair…" Kyo paused then put his foot up onto a chair and held up the broom to the ceiling. "But next time, I'll win! I'll beat that kuso nezumi!" He grinned.

"Stop grinning like an idiot Carrot Top." Uo said has she slid open the door. "Come on Tohru, Hanajimi. Let's leave before his stupidity spreads to us."

"WHAT'D YOU SAY!"

Tohru smiled, "Bye Kyo-kun. See you at home tonight!"

Outside, it started drizzling.

"Eep! I don't have an umbrella!"

"Calm down, Tohru. It's just a light shower. The weather forecast didn't even say anything about it raining today." Uo said.

"That's what happens when you rely on the average human to predict your weather." Saki said in her usual monotone.

Uo was surprised, "Eh! Hanajima, where'd you get that umbrella?" Sure enough, Saki held a black umbrella over herself.

Tohru tilted her head to the side.

"Here Tohru-chan. Take my umbrella." Saki passed the umbrella over to Tohru.

"Eh! Iei! I couldn't possibly! I'll be fine. Look, the rain is starting to stop." It was true. The shower was passing. Tohru gave Saki back her umbrella.

"Tohru! Tohru!" A certain blond-haired boy came bounding towards Tohru. Tohru panicked. It looked like Momiji was going to jump onto her. Then Saki and Uo would know about the Juunishi curse! Moments before Momiji was going to plow into Tohru, a hand shot out and grabbed onto Momiji's collar.

"Aw…Haru…." Momiji whined.

"Control yourself Momiji." Haru said before putting Momiji down.

"Hey hey! Tohru! Is it true there's a new student in your class? What's he like!" Momiji asked excitedly.

"Ano…," Tohru thought for a moment. "He's kind…"

"How would you know Tohru? He said three words to you." Uo said.

"Well, he said 'thank you'," Tohru blushed.

Uo smiled at Tohru. Then she turned to Momiji, "Well, the guy is real serious and quiet. And he has looks to _almost_ rival the Prince."

"His waves are interesting…" Saki put in.

Momiji and Haru looked at Saki. Momiji said to no one in particular, "Interesting?"

"Yes. But not as interesting as the waves of the Sohma family…"

Haru stood there expressionless. Momiji and Tohru started laughing nervously. Uo stared at them oddly.

Momiji switched the subject, "Hey Tohru, want me to walk you to work?"

"Eh? Oh no. I'll be fine, really. I have to stop by the store to buy some things first anyway."

Tohru told Momiji.

"Oh." Momiji thought for a moment, "In that case! I'll go to Daddy's office first and start your work for you! That way, you'll still get done your work early, I can walk you home, and we can start your gift unwrapping party early!" Knowing Tohru would protest, Momiji ran off before Tohru could say anything.

"Wah! Wait! No, Momiji-kun…!" Tohru sighed, knowing the bunny was probably two blocks away already.

Haru blinked a couple of times, "Well, I'll head over the Shigure's house now." He started walking away.

"Wait, Hatsuharu-san! Why are you going to Shigure-san's house now when the party will be tonight?" Tohru was confused.

Haru responded, "It'll take me a while to get there…Bye Tohru."

Tohru mentally slapped herself. She forgot about Hatsuharu's bad sense of direction.

"Sorry about not going to your party Tohru. I have to work tonight." Uo said sadly.

"Yes, Tohru-chan. I am also very sorry I can't come. I must watch Megumi." Saki said.

"Oh no! It's fine! Uo-chan's work and Hana-chan's brother are more important. I must be going now. Bye Uo-chan! Bye Hana-chan!" Tohru started to walk away with a smile on her face.

"Bye Tohru-chan." "See you Tohru!"

* * *

Tohru went around to various shops and picked up various items. By the time she finished buying everything that she wanted, she was sure it was past 5 o'clock. She rushed to work, put her things in her locker, changed into her working clothes, and got her supplies. She discovered from her fellow workers that Momiji left already. They told her that he was so excited about something that he unintentionally annoyed some people. They also told her some tall man with dark colored hair and green eyes came to pick up Momiji. Tohru guessed that it was Hatori. Knowing Momiji went home, Tohru was very astonished when she saw that Momiji finished half her work for her already. Tohru worked diligently until 7 pm. She changed, grabbed her stuff, and walked outside.

Tohru gasped. She suddenly wished she had accepted the umbrella that Saki had offered her. It was pouring buckets outside. Tohru sighed. She tied up all of her bags to protect the things she bought from the rain. She then started the long walk back to Shigure's house through the dark and through the rain.

She had been walking for about ten minutes when she suddenly fell back and dropped her belongings.

"Ouch…" Tohru moaned. She looked up and saw a tall dark shadow standing over her. She started to panick when she saw the shadow reach into its jacket. She swears she saw the glint of metal. She panicked even more. She then looked closer the figure's face and saw that it looked familiar. The figure stopped its movement. They stared at each other for a long while until the shadow spoke.

"Oh! Sumimasen!" The shadow spoke. It held out its hand towards Tohru. She stared at it suspiciously then looked at the figure's face again.

"….O-Ookami-san?"

"Yeah?"

Tohru started to calm down. She then blushed madly and scrambled up. She bowed low to Karasu. "Sumimasen! Sumimasen for bumping into you!"

Karasu stared at her. "Um…iei. It's fine. I wasn't hurt. You were the one that fell anyway. If anything, I should be apologizing…"

Tohru stared dumbstruck. She mentally counted. Karasu just spoke about 20 words to her. That's the most she's heard from him all day!

Karasu stared curiously at the girl, "Umm….yeah…"

Tohru snapped out of her thoughts. "Oh iei! I'm so clumsy." She laughed nervously and picked her stuff up. Thank goodness that the stuff she bought today was in plastic bags. Unfornutely, her backpack wasn't so lucky to be dry. She sighed. She nervously raked her hand through her soaked hair.

Karasu noticed she was soaked to the bone. "You don't have an umbrella." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well…iei…" Tohru blushed slightly, knowing she probably looked like a wet rat. Then she decided she just looked extremely bad, not wanting to offend Yuki.

Karasu reached into his jacket. Tohru got nervous, remembering the glint she saw. Karasu took out a tote sized umbrella and opened it up. "Here."

"Eh! Iei! I don't need it! I'm already wet and it's yours!" she shook her head violently, sending the droplets trapped in her hair flying.

"I'm fine. I don't really like umbrellas anyway, and I don't mind the rain. Plus, I have a jacket."

Karasu forced it into her hand. Tohru reluctantly accepted it.

"Don't you know it's dangerous to walk alone at night," Karasu stated. "There are a lot of crazy things going on in the shadows."

"But I always walk this way at night. I work so I get out late. I usually have Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun picking me up though."

Karasu vaguely remembers the two boys in his class that watched him all day.

"Well, I have to be going now. Bye Ookami-san!" She smiled brightly at him and started walking away.

Karasu watched her. He knew he should offer to walk her home. A girl like her should not be wandering around alone late at night. But he really really didn't want to walk her home. He had better things to do. He watched her walk away and turn towards the woods. He lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. Why would that Honda girl go into the woods. He saw her stop and look back the way she came. He saw her wave. He turned around and headed down the street away from Tohru.

Tohru waved but saw he didn't wave back. She wasn't sad though. Since Karasu was still standing in the same spot, watching her until she was going into the woods, she figured he was silently making sure she was safe. That was her logic. She watched him walk away. Under the glow of a street light, she saw the picture on his black windbreaker. It seemed to glow at her. It was the outline of a green metallic wolf. She watched Karasu until she couldn't see his form anymore. Then she went onto Sohma property and made her way towards Shigure's house.

On the way, she bumped into someone yet again. There was that all too familiar POOF. Tohru stopped and looked down to see the familiar white mouse with violet eyes.

"Honda-san! You're alright!" Tohru reached down and picked up Yuki.

"Yuki-kun! Gomenasai for bumping into you."

"It's okay Honda-san. Honda-san! You're soaked!"

"Eheheheh…" She smiled nervously. "Yeah. I kind of bumped into someone on my way home and fell into a puddle…."

Tohru continued to walk and arrived at Shigure's. Yuki transformed back and wondered how Tohru can get that wet by falling into a puddle. She looked like she went swimming in a lake with her clothes on. He didn't notice that Tohru didn't take an umbrella with her this morning. Kyo was in his moody self because of the rain. He was so tired, he didn't even yell at Tohru that much for being clumsy. Tohru herself went upstairs to shower and change before she got sick. The Juunishi and Tohru had yet another feast this week. Tohru smiled happily.

Momiji was now really really excited. "Now that that's done! Presents!" He hopped madly up and down. Everyone slowly moved to Tohru's room where the gifts were.

Tohru sat on her bed and watched them all excitedly. She's come to think of them as her family.

"Onee-san, open mines first please…" Kisa came up to her with a pretty medium-sized metallic orange gift bag. Kisa stared at Tohru with those beautiful, sweet eyes of hers.

"Kisa-chan is so kawaii!" Tohru couldn't help it. Kisa was just too cute for her. She took the gift bag and gingerly removed the tissue. She smiled and took out an orange pillow with autumn leaves and tigers on it.

"It's so kawaii just like Kisa-chan! Arigatou!" Tohru nearly squealed in delight.

Kisa blushed a little and hugged Tohru, "I made it myself at home. Ayame ojii-san taught me how to sew pillows."

Tohru placed the pillow next to her with Kisa at her other side. Momiji came to her next with two wrapped gifts. Both were small. Tohru accepted them with a bright smile and took the time to examine the wrapping paper. It was odd because it was Valentine 's Day wrapping paper.

"Eheheh…" Momiji rubbed the back of his head and smiled brightly, "I didn't have any other wrapping paper…eheheh…"

"It's okay Momiji-kun," Tohru said. She unwrapped the first gift and found it to be an alarm clock in the shape of the most adorable bunny she had ever seen (besides Momiji of course). "Kawaii! It looks just like Momiji-kun!"

"Yay! Tohru-hime likes my present!" Momiji jumped for joy and hugged Tohru. POOF. A bunny to match the alarm clock (but bigger) sat in Tohru's lap. Tohru laughed. "Open the other gift Tohru-hime before it melts!"

"Melts?" Tohru repeated.

"Must you repeat what the rabbit says. It's not really necessary you know." Hiro stated. "And Momiji, why would you even wrap something that could melt. That's not very smart. What would happen if she did not open her gifts until next week, and Japan has a sudden heat wave. Would the melted liquid soak through the box and ruin everything?"

Momiji began to feel bad and his bunny ears drooped.

"Hiro-kun, why don't you be nice…" Kisa said softly.

Hiro immediately shut up. "…gomen…." He looked away.

Tohru quickly opened the gift and discovered it to be a white chocolate bunny. "Yum! It's kawaii and it tastes good! Arigatou Momiji!"

Momiji was really happy. Then POOF! A naked blond-haired boy was sitting in Tohru's lap and hugging Tohru.

Kyo, even in his tired state, yelled, "Baka!" He grabbed Momiji by his ear and pulled him off. "Go put on some clothes!"

Tohru had fallen off her bed and looked flustered. She stood up and brushed herself off. There was silence until Momiji announced he was fully clothed.

The unwrapping of gifts went on.

Tohru received a knitted set of a scarf, hat, and gloves from Ayame. They were red with a white snake pattern. But not ugly snakes. They were cute cartoony type snakes. Ayame announced that Tohru would be needing them when winter comes next season. He also made her pajamas with a snake print on them. Then he revealed yet another gift. Claiming it was for summer season. It was a one piece pink bathing suit with white snakes on it. Ayame enthusiastically said he couldn't wait to see Tohru in his creation when summer comes. Kyo punched Ayame screaming that he was peverted. Yuki sent his brother out Tohru's window. Shigure was glad that wasn't him.

Shigure wrote Tohru her very own novel which he will not get published. It was just for her. Tohru happened to be the main character in the novel. She was a princess and all the Sohma's were other various characters. Momiji happily announced that he read a little of the novel and said that Kyo was a peasant in the book. Momiji ended up holding his head and whining that Kyo hit him. Shigure ended up out the window like Ayame had been a while ago. The novel also came with a cute puppy dog bookmark.

Hatori's gift was a photo album of all the Sohma's and Tohru together. The photo album looked expensive because it was bound with real leather. There was a majestic Chinese dragon flying across both the front and back covers of the photo album.

Kagura got Tohru a new backpack. It was brown and had all the zodiac animals sewn onto it, but the boar and the cat seemed to be bigger and closer together than the rest. Tohru was very grateful for the new backpack since her old one was soaked from the rain. Her school books and things were currently drying.

Hatsuharu gift was odd to say the least. It was a rock. Everyone sweat dropped when Tohru opened a small gift box and saw a rock in it. Haru then realized he wrapped the wrong thing by accident. He reached into his pocket and took out what looked like a jewel. It was a peridot. Tohru, along with everyone else, was shocked to say the least. Peridot was a semi-precious gemstone. Haru gave it to Tohru. Tohru just stared at it. It was a pretty big peridot. Well, to her it was big. It was cut into an odd shape and had an ox carved and painted black into it. Haru explained that it was a totem animal stone. Well, that was what he thought it was. He didn't know what it stood for though. He asked if Tohru was a Virgo (a/n: I know she's really a Taurus, but that means her birthday shouldn't be now so I changed her b-day), and she said yes. Haru said that peridot was her birthstone then. Tohru refused to accept it at first, but Haru said he had that rock for a while now and she should keep it. Tohru just couldn't accept it, then Haru turned Black and Tohru nervously accepted the gift before anyone was hurt.

Ritsu gave Tohru a box full of different pastel-colored origami flowers and a little origami monkey. Hiro commented that it was stupid. Ritsu went into his usual apologies. Tohru actually thought the gift was really sweet and that she loved it. She arranged the flowers on her dresser. She commented that their beauty will never die and go away. This seemed to calm the monkey down.

Kisa asked Hiro about his gift. Hiro sighed and brought Tohru a small package. Hiro got Tohru a keychain. It was a keychain of a cute fuzzy sheep. Kyo was screaming at the poor sheep for getting Tohru such a stupid, cheap gift compared to everyone else. Hiro retorted back to Kyo that Ritsu's gift was stupid and cost nothing. Ritsu started screaming his apologies again. Tohru actually liked the simple keychain. She thought it was rather cute and fastened it onto her new backpack. She told everyone that she liked the keychain and explained that it was the thought that counts. Kyo retorted that Hiro must think very little of Tohru then. Tohru responded by saying it was better than being not thought of at all.

After everyone was calmed down, there were only four gifts left. Two of the gifts were from Saki and Uo. The other two were from Yuki and Kyo. Yuki nervously picked up his large wrapped gift. He brought it over to Tohru.

He shifted uncomfortably, "I wasn't sure what to get…" Tohru mused that Yuki's fan club girls would be really surprised to see their prince actually nervous. Tohru accepted the gift and slowly unwrapped it. She smiled brightly at what was inside. It was a bath set. It was a basket full of lotions, oils, shampoos, and soaps. There was also a towel with a small mouse on it that was similar to Yuki's mouse form. The lotions, soaps, and shampoos were all light scents.

"Arigatou Yuki-kun! It's wonderful!" She put the basket aside, eager to use the strawberry scented soaps tomorrow.

Yuki let out a breath in relief. He didn't even know he was holding his breath.

Kyo was last and everyone looked at him expectantly. He brought his gift over.

"I didn't know what to get and I was low on money, so don't expect much." Kyo warned Tohru.

Tohru smiled softly, "I'm sure it's a great gift."

She removed the tissue from the gift bag and pulled out a small orange cat plushie.

"Kawaii!" She smiled. The cat plushie also held a plushie yarn ball. On the yarn ball was sewn in white thread 'thinking of u'. Tohru smiled wider.

Shigure gushed, "Aww…that's so sweet…OW! Kyo-kun, what was that for!"

"For being stupid!"

* * *

The party ended and the juunishi that didn't live in the house slowly trickled out of Shigure's house. Tohru decided to open Hana's and Uo's gifts when they were actually there.

The phone rang and Tohru answered, "Moshi moshi! Tohru desu."

"Ah! Tohru-chan! How are you?" an old man's voice replied.

"Ojii-san? I'm doing great! I've missed you Ojii-san." Tohru said.

Tohru's grandfather chuckled a little. "Happy Birthday Tohru-chan. I'm sorry I'm a little late."

"It's okay Ojii-san. Better late than never, ne?"

There was a pause. Her grandfather said to Tohru in an almost tense tone, "Tohru-chan, why don't you come over and visit tomorrow. I've missed you dearly and I have your gift too."

"Sure thing Ojii-san!"

"Alright Tohru-chan. I'll see you tomorrow," the old man replied almost happily. Almost. "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi nasai, Ojii-san!" Tohru hung up the phone and went to bed with a light heart and a happy smile. Today was great, even if she did get caught in the rain. That reminded her she needed to return Karasu's umbrella.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket in no way belongs to me. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya

a/n: my last chapter was surprisingly long. i really didn't expect it to be that long. don't expect long chapters. i'm a short chapter writer. like this chapter is pretty short and this is usually how it's going to be.

a/n: this story mainly focuses on Tohru. don't expect too many scenes that focus on the Sohmas. Sometimes I'll focus on Karasu too, but not too often.

a/n: i'm only able to write this chapter today because of it being a snow day.so give thanks to snow. yay! no school! good. since i didn't do my homework.

Now let's begin…

Chapter 3

It was a wonderful morning! The skies were clear, not a trace of any cloud, not even those pretty fluffy cotton clouds. The birds sang merrily. There was a trace of a breeze in the air. The air was somewhere between warm and cool, that perfect temperature where you just could not decide if you should take a light jacket with you or not.

It was as if a huge, unforeseen storm didn't occur the day before. The only evidence of it down pouring the day before was the damp ground of the woods….and Tohru's drying school books and borrowed umbrella.

Honda Tohru was at her shoe locker switching her shoes for school. She looked in high spirits, despite her being caught in the rain the day before and having her books still slightly damp.

Kyo and Yuki stood by her, patiently waiting for her to go to class. Well, one was patient, but the other kept his mouth shut.

Yuki watched her slip on and tie her shoes. He saw Tohru reach inside her new backpack and take out a black umbrella.

Yuki questioned, "Why do you have an umbrella today Honda-san?"

Kyo looked at her, "Oh no! That psychic girl didn't predict a squall today did she? I'm going home!" He quickly moved towards the door.

Before Kyo made it to the door, Tohru replied, "Oh no! I just borrowed this umbrella from someone yesterday, and I must return it."

Kyo stopped. "Oh. Who'd you borrow it from?"

Yuki said before Tohru could reply, "Since when did you use words like 'squall' baka neko. Is your brain finally working, or are you trying to sound smart?"

Kyo was going to lunge at Yuki when Tohru spotted Karasu walking pass.

Tohru moved towards the new student.

"Ohaiyo gozaimasu Ookami-san!" Tohru stood next to Karasu.

Karasu stopped. He looked at the girl that just stopped him. He recognized her as the girl who he crashed into yesterday. Why was she so cheerful. She was almost always cheerful or nervous. He didn't know whether to be annoyed, surprised, or amused. He glanced behind her and saw the two guys that were staring at him the day before. The one with orange hair seemed angry. The other had a cool demeanor, somewhat like Karasu himself. Karasu could tell they were trying to evaluate him.

Kyo and Yuki stopped their impending fight to stare at their lovely Tohru and the new kid. They didn't know what to think. They weren't sure if they could trust the new kid yet. Yuki slowly approached Karasu with his mask up. He studied him for a moment.

"Ookami-san, ohaiyo…" Yuki held out his hand.

Karasu stared at the hand. He wasn't much of the hand shake person. He stuck his hands in his pockets and took a pose similar to Hatsuharu's.

"Ohaiyo."

Tohru looked between the two boys. "Oh! Here's your umbrella Ookami-san. Arigatou for letting me borrow it yesterday." She smiled and handed the said boy his umbrella. She bowed to show her appreciation.

"Sure," Karasu replied. He took the umbrella and stuffed it in his backpack.

Kyo approached, "So this is who you borrowed that umbrella from."

"Obviously baka neko…"

Kyo glared daggers at Yuki and muttered, "Kuso nezumi…"

The warning bell rang and Karasu was the first to start moving towards class. Tohru followed a little ways behind. Kyo and Yuki bickered in low voices a few feet behind Tohru.

* * *

Class was pretty uneventful unless you count the sensei throwing coughing fits every hour. It made it hard to teach, and learn so most of the students didn't pay any attention.

Even Tohru, the girl who wanted to do well in school to please her late mother, gave up trying to pay attention and take notes. She lazily traced the animal shapes on her new backpack. She thought it was sort of ironic. The Sohmas who were cursed with the Juunishi animals wanted to be normal and free of the curse, but each one got her a gift with their Juunishi animal on it. Tohru guessed they did that because they knew the curse was a part of them. Tohru admitted, as much as she wanted the curse to be broken, she had a hard time imagining the Sohma's without their respectable Juunishi animals. Would their personalities still be the same if they had never been cursed in the first place? Would Kyo be accepted into the Sohma family? Would Kyo and Yuki still be enemies? Would they have brought her into their family the day they found her in a tent in the woods. Would Akito be the way he is?

The school day came to an end.

Yuki said his farewells and left for student council. Kyo, Tohru, Uotani, and Saki were walking out of the school.

"Did you open our gifts Tohru?" asked Uo.

"Iei. I wanted to wait for Uo-chan and Hana-chan to be there." Tohru answered back.

"Tohru-chan is so sweet." Saki said.

Uo put in, "Let's go now so you can open your gifts!"

Tohru asked confused, "Don't you have to work Uo-chan?"

"Oh yeah. Damn…," Uo's happy mood deflated.

"I can get Megumi to curse your boss if you really want to."

Kyo exclaimed, "You can't do that!"

Uo, just to argue with Kyo, yelled back, "What if I want to! What are you going to do about it!

Tohru quickly interjected, "No need for that! I can't go back to Shigure-san's house now anyway. I promised Ojii-san I'd visit him after school today."

Kyo stopped yelling and looked at Tohru, "You didn't tell me that."

"Oh! Gomenasai Kyo-kun! I forgot to tell you! Ojii-san called late last night and asked me to come over. Gomen." Tohru felt guilty for forgetting to inform Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure.

Uo said, "Don't you have to work?"

Tohru responded, "Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm not staying at Ojii-san's house for too long, because I have to work.

"Want me to walk you there Tohru?" Kyo offered.

"Aww…look. Carrot Top is trying to be a gentlemen." Uo said.

The group said their good-byes and separated.

* * *

Ookami Karasu waited patiently for the main doors to open at the Ookami's main house. He was wearing his black jacket. He walked to the main garden and sat down under a blossom tree near a pond. He sat there and watched the koi fish swim for about five minutes.

"Would you like some tea Karasu-sama?" A middle-aged maid asked. She was wearing an old yukata with a cross hatch pattern in earthly brown colors. Her hair was black and put up, and she had sparkling brown eyes.

"No thank you Chiaki-san."

The woman nodded, "Your father will be out soon. He is eager to know how your first day school went."

Karasu nodded and the maid left. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man appeared. He had waist length raven hair tied back. His eyes were a soft brown color, but they looked alert. He was also wearing a yukata.

"How was your first and second day of school?"

"Okay. Where were you yesterday, father?"

"Out gathering information."

Karasu nodded.

"Meet any new people, Karasu?"

"It's a new school. Of course, I'm going to meet new people."

Silence for a few seconds.

"So far, I think people are intimidated by me or something. Except that Honda girl sometimes. I've gathered that she's shy, clumsy, but overall kind. She has a few friends, but not many. One ex-gang member from what I've gathered. Another is a girl who claims to be psychic. I'm not sure. All her other friends are people with the last name Sohma. I only know two of them. Both male, very protective of her. Odd hair colors. Bright orange and a sort of violet gray. Violet haired guy has a sort of fan club and is nicknamed "Price Yuki". I heard a rumor that the orange haired boy jumped out a second story window once. There is an animosity between the two boys. They often call each other 'nezumi' and 'neko'. A very odd group of friends."

His father listened carefully. "You've gathered all of this in two days? Don't judge people too quickly Karasu."

"I know."

"I heard you came back late last night. Got caught in the rain?"

"Yeah. But that's not what took up my time. That Honda girl accidentally bumped into me."

His father looked puzzled, "She bumped into you?"

"I didn't hear her coming."

"You should know better. Was she alone?"

"Yeah. Said she was walking home from work."

After a few seconds, Karasu's father said, "An ex-gang member eh?"

Karasu nodded. Now it was his turn to ask a question.

"What kind of 'info' did you gather?"

"Nothing you should worry about."

Karasu didn't press. He knew he'd find out eventually. Nothing went on around here that he didn't know. He had a knack for figuring things out.

Karasu stared out across the garden where two children were rough housing.

He heard his father say sadly, "The moon will be smaller tonight."

Karasu sighed.

His father said, "Sighing makes your happiness go away." Then he disappeared to wherever he may be.

* * *

It took about a half hour for Tohru to speed walk to her grandfather's house. She was currently sitting in the living room serving her grandfather tea. Her aunt and cousins weren't home yet.

Tohru said happily, "It's been so long since I've seen you Ojii-san."

Her grandfather smiled wearily. Then it turned into a thoughtful frown.

Tohru saw this and looked worried. It was not often her grandfather frowned. "Is something wrong Ojii-san?"

The old man changed the subject, "Yes. It certainly has been a while since I've seen you." He reached beside the sofa and lifted up a gift bag. "Happy belated birthday Tohru-chan."

Tohru accepted the gift but didn't forget that her grandfather left her question unanswered. She removed the tissue from the gift bag and pulled out a painting. She gasped at its beauty. It was a small painting of Tohru as a little girl(around 8 or 9), sitting on a hill in a field of purple and white flowers.

She hugged her grandfather, then asked, "How did you get it done Ojii-san?"

The elderly man smiled warmly, "I took the old photo of you sitting like that and gave it to an artist. The artist enlarged and painted it with a different background."

"It's beautiful." Tohru was staring at the painting with starry eyes.

"It is, isn't it. The artist was actually an old friend of your mother's. He dropped it off yesterday. That's why I didn't give it to you sooner."

Tohru asked curiously, "An old friend of Okaa-san? Do I know him?"

"I'm not sure. You might have met him when you were younger, but I really don't know."

"Oh."

The old man looked uncomfortable. "Tohru-chan, the gift isn't the only reason I wanted to see you today."

"What's wrong Ojii-san?"

"You see, the artist was a friend of Kyoko, because he was in a gang also."

"The artist was in Okaa-san's gang?" Tohru asked.

"He came to warn me about something." He paused, not sure how to explain it. Tohru was silent. "He…he said that there is a sort of disturbance in the gang world. Some really bad people are out there, and they're trying to assassinate all of Kyoko's gang members and associates."

Tohru gasped. "…O-Ojii-san…".

Her grandfather continued, "He came to warn me. He said to warn you, that you might very well be a target."

Tohru was scared, really scared now, "…why…why would they want to kill me?"

Her grandfather didn't know if he should tell her. Would she be able to handle it? "Kyoko was the Red Butterfly, you're her daughter. This killing has been going on for a while now. And…and Kyoko's friend believes that Kyoko's death in the car accident was no accident. He believes that she was murdered."

Tohru took this all in. She was shocked, to say the least. She took it hard the day when she found out her mom, Honda Kyoko, the Red Butterfly, died in a car accident. Now, well now, this news was even worse. Her mother had been murdered! Ruthlessly murdered! And now, she finds out that she may be a target too! This was too much. But she didn't cry. Maybe Tohru was too shocked to cry.

"Tohru-chan…" Her grandfather said sympathetically.


End file.
